1880s Tavern Building Beside the Neshanic Train Station
102 Woodfern Road, Neshanic Station, NJ 08853
Research updated June 2026
Age
All Ages
Cost
$$
Bar-and-grill pricing.
Access
Limited Access
Historic 19th-century tavern building
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1880 · 19th-Century Tavern · Adjacent to Neshanic Station Depot
The building at 102 Woodfern Road in Neshanic Station — a small unincorporated community in Branchburg Township, Somerset County, New Jersey — was constructed in the 1880s. The site sits next to the Neshanic Station post office and the colorful 1864 Neshanic Station depot, which is preserved on the National Register of Historic Places.
The building has operated under several names over its long tavern life, including the Neshanic Inn and Murphy's Crocodile Inn. After a multi-year closure, the property was redeveloped under the Riverside Inn name and was set to reopen in spring 2020. The Covid-19 pandemic delayed the grand opening by approximately a year, with the bar-and-grill operating under its current Riverside Inn branding since.
The Shadowlands Haunted Places Index entry for the building dates to its earlier Murphy's Crocodile Inn era and is the source most often cited for the property's paranormal reputation.
Sources
The building's paranormal reputation predates its current Riverside Inn branding and traces to its earlier life as Murphy's Crocodile Inn and the Neshanic Inn. The most consistently cited account describes lights in the building turning on and off at irregular intervals without traceable electrical cause.
The basement is the site most often associated with reports of a dark shadow figure. The original Shadowlands entry that established the building's haunted reputation centers on this basement description, and later regional paranormal aggregator entries continue to repeat it.
There is no published record of organized paranormal investigations at the property, and the current Riverside Inn ownership has not built its identity around the folklore. Visitors interested in the building's reputation can dine at the bar-and-grill and ask staff directly; current first-hand accounts are not well documented in published sources.
Eat at the bar-and-grill that occupies the former Murphy's Crocodile Inn building, an 1880s tavern beside the historic Neshanic Station depot. The basement is the location most associated with the original Shadowlands report of a shadow figure.
Every HauntBound history is researched from documented sources. We clearly separate verified historical fact from paranormal folklore.
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